Settlement Dispute Stalls Mideast Talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Adam Entous - December 28, 2007 - 2:16pm

Israel is considering easing criteria for freeing Palestinian prisoners, a move one Israeli official said on Monday could pave the way for the release of Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouthi. Israel's deputy defense minister, Matan Vilnai, said Barghouthi, a Palestinian uprising leader from Fatah and a possible successor to President Mahmoud Abbas, could be a candidate for release. Also on Monday, a second round of peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams were bogged down in a dispute over settlement building near Jerusalem.

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Bethlehem Basks In Calm And Cheer
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Dalia Nammari - December 28, 2007 - 2:15pm

Encouraged by renewed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, Christian pilgrims from around the world converged on Jesus's traditional birthplace Monday to celebrate Christmas -- a palpable contrast to the sparse crowds of recent years. The diverse crowd included festive American tourists, clergymen in brown flowing robes and Palestinian scouts wearing kilts and playing bagpipes.

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Palestinian Statehood Is The Key
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by Tanvir Ahmed Khan - (Opinion) December 21, 2007 - 3:37pm

Two important events have taken place in quick succession and yet a pall of uncertainty hangs over a possible route to a viable two-state solution in Palestine. Implicit in both events - the largely attended meeting in Annapolis, Maryland on November 26-27 and the just concluded donors conference in Paris - is a fresh recognition by the international community that in the final analysis the denial of Palestinian aspirations for statehood is the real locus of instability in the region.

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The Other Middle East Conflict: Israel Vs. Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Stephen D. Hayes - December 21, 2007 - 3:36pm

The Annapolis Middle East conference has now come and gone. There is not enough political capital or “time left on the clock” in Washington for this initiative to be of much value. But, the initiative can serve as a useful catalyst to showcase another dimension of the struggle in the region.

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Farewell Tour
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist
December 21, 2007 - 3:33pm

George Bush is heading to the Middle East The US president, George W Bush, is planning an eight-day visit to the Middle East in early January in a bid to salvage some positive achievements from his administration's largely dismal legacy to the region. The main purpose of the visit will be to try to maintain the momentum of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process relaunched at last month's Annapolis conference. A subsidiary theme will be an effort to stiffen the resolve of the US's principal Arab allies in the face of Iran's perceived drive for regional hegemony.

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Blair Treads The Road From Baghdad To Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Philip Stephens - (Commentary) December 21, 2007 - 3:32pm

For Tony Blair it was a poignant, even painful, coincidence. Britain’s former prime minister was at an international donors’ conference in Paris this week, passing round the hat for the Palestinians in his role as Middle East mediator. In a small, unremarkable ceremony 2,000-odd miles away in Iraq, British troops were bidding farewell to Basra. Iraq, as far as Britain is concerned, is a lost war. Mr Blair’s premiership was one of its many casualties. Perhaps that explains why the former prime minister is not ready to give up on a Middle East peace deal.

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(settlement) Blocks To The Roadmap
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum
by Sadie Goldman With Jason Proetorius And Ipf Staff - (Analysis) December 21, 2007 - 3:26pm

On the heels of the first meeting of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiating team, Israel announced its approval of the construction of 307 new homes in Har Homa, a settlement south of East Jerusalem. The announcement produced strong and negative responses from the European Union, the United Nations, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, all of whom expressed the concern that Israel’s action was contrary to its Roadmap obligations to freeze settlement construction, as confirmed in the agreements reached at Annapolis.

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U.n. Advocates For Gazans
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward
by Marc Perelman - December 21, 2007 - 3:24pm

The top humanitarian official at the United Nations said he found “shocking” the lack of international attention to the worsening situation in Gaza, which was caused by the Israeli blockade since Hamas took over the territory last June.

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A Ceasefire From Hamas?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Boston Globe
(Editorial) December 21, 2007 - 3:22pm

THE ISRAELI government reacted warily at first - and understandably so - to the proposal of a ceasefire in Gaza from Ismael Haniyeh, leader of the group Hamas. But after initially rebuffing the offer, Israeli officials are seriously considering it, according to an Israeli television report yesterday. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government would be wise to explore a ceasefire with Hamas, for it could not only save lives but also prepare the way for a comprehensive peace agreement.

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Experts: Extreme Rightists Will Use Violence If Settlements Are Evacuated
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amoss Harel - December 20, 2007 - 4:55pm

Extreme right-wing activists are expected to use severe violence to disrupt any move to evacuate outposts or settlements, even the destruction of a few homes, according to an evaluation recently presented to the government by the security establishment and law enforcement officials in the territories. The evaluation states that the violence during any attempt at evacuation would be more serious than that seen during the evacuation of Amona two years ago.

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